Daniel Ricciardo is a classic character of F1. Few can match Ricciardo’s passion for the sport. Ever so passionately, Daniel’s special shoey celebration has become famous in the F1 world. While the Australian does it only when he gets on the podium, there was a time when podiums came in plenty for the Honey Badger.
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Back in 2017, Daniel Ricciardo was potentially at his peak and gathering a lot of success for Red Bull. While the RBR car had its limits, Ricciardo maximized the car’s potential to get as many podiums as possible. And of course, Ricciardo did his famous “Shoey” tradition on the podium.
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Although when the podium frequency became high, Ricciardo tried to avoid the tradition. In the 2017 British GP press conference, Ricciardo stated his doubts about his iconic celebration.
He said, “I honestly didn’t plan on doing it [the shoey], in even Baku. I was like “Ah I won’t do it”, DC [David Coulthard] took my shoes off and then, [in] Austria, Martin [Brundle] was like, frothing for it! So… I was like, I feel like there’s some real sick b**tards around here!”
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – OCTOBER 01: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing, second place finisher Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and third place finisher Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Red Bull Racing celebrate on the podium during the Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on October 1, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton too chuckled his opinion in saying, “The juice from the foot is not something I wish to drink. Especially someone else’s!”
The Aussie driver also cited the health risk involved in drinking from the shoe. He stated, “It’s risky back-to-backs [shoeys], it is. We all the podium guys could end up in the hospital for a week.”
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While Hamilton put forth his reservations, he did a shoey with Ricciardo on the Imola podium in 2020. It was Daniel’s 2nd podium in 2020 for Renault and after a long while since his Red Bull days.
Daniel Ricciardo and His Classic Celebrations in F1
Daniel Ricciardo and his celebrations are quite distinctive, especially when he wins. While he has won races 8 times in F1, each one of these victories was thoroughly enjoyed by Daniel. The shoey is one of the popular elements in his post-victory celebrations.
MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Race winner Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren F1 and McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 12, 2021 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
And when he broke his drought of wins in Monza in 2021, it was crazy on the podium that evening. Ricciardo made sure his team boss Zak Brown and teammate Lando Norris also joined him, drinking champagne from the shoes. After all, it was his first win in 3 years and the first win for McLaren after 9 years.
Besides this recent celebration, the Honey Badger’s most memorable victory party happened in Monaco. After a Herculean effort to win on the streets of Monte Carlo, Daniel and his Red Bull team went wild in their celebrations.
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Just near the picturesque marina and the harbor, Ricciardo jumped into the swimming pool at the RB Energy station with unparalleled emotions. The victory tasted even sweeter for Daniel as he had missed out on the same about 2 years ago in the principality.
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Watch This Story: Dramatic F1 moments in Monaco GP history feat. Ricciardo’s Redemption
It’s rare to see such passion in celebrating wins and successes. Though Ricciardo may want to win more, his ideal wish would be to win the championship and then initiate a similar passionate celebration. What do you think? Can we see a Ricciardo Redemption arc for his F1 career?
